London: In order to give the group a stronger voice on the global stage, the foreign ministers of the BRICS nations—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—have stated their willingness to accept new members, including Saudi Arabia. 

Prince Faisal bin Farhan, the Saudi foreign minister, attended a two-day conference in Cape Town on Thursday and Friday where the group positioned itself as a force for a "rebalancing" of the world order away from Western-dominated institutions. 

Prince Faisal met with a number of his counterparts informally and also participated in a ministerial gathering of the "Friends of BRICS" with the theme "Partnership for Mutually Accelerated Growth, Sustainable Development, and Inclusive Multilateralism."

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In addition, he discussed ways "to implement the agreement between the two countries signed in Beijing, including intensifying bilateral work to ensure international peace and security," according to a statement from the Saudi delegation. He also spoke with Iran's foreign minister, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian. 

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iran, Cuba, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Comoros, Gabon, and Kazakhstan all sent representatives to the talks in Cape Town, while Egypt, Argentina, Bangladesh, Guinea-Bissau, and Indonesia took part virtually.

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According to Sergei Lavrov, the foreign minister of Russia, "more than a dozen" nations have expressed interest in joining BRICS. China's vice foreign minister, Ma Zhaoxu, stated at a press conference that "we expect more countries to join our big family."

Reports state that Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Algeria, Egypt, Bahrain, and Iran have all formally requested to join the BRICS, as have a number of other countries who appear committed to realigning their international relations to reflect a more multipolar world order.

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The New Development Bank, the Shanghai-based lender better known as the "BRICS bank," is reportedly in talks with Saudi Arabia to accept the Kingdom as its ninth member.   

In August, a summit of head of states is slated to take place in Johannesburg.

The BRICS economic bloc sees itself as a rival to Western-dominated political and military institutions. Experts are divided about its potential, citing the inherent conflicts between the major BRICS nations and the uncertainty surrounding what membership might entail.